Aveng’s court bid against Sanral over Eastern Cape bridge fails
Agency claims ruling vindicates its claim that the construction group was not supposed to abandon the Mtentu project
Construction group Aveng, whose market value has shrunk to a fraction of its R28bn peak a decade ago, suffered a setback on Friday after a court blocked its bid to stop claims by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) over an incomplete R1.6bn project. The company’s share price collapsed 33% to an all-time low of 2c on Friday after the Pretoria High Court dismissed an application by AvengStrabag, a joint venture made with Austrian construction group Strabag International, paving the way for the state-owned national roads agency to sue for the unfinished Mtentu Bridge project in the Eastern Cape. The latest drop in the shares pushed its decline so far in 2019 to 60%, valuing the company, once a member of the JSE Top 40 index, at just R388m, a far cry from its 2008 peak in the lead-up to SA hosting the soccer World Cup in 2010. Aveng had made an urgent application to prevent Sanral from making a call on two contract securities — a R245m performance guarantee and an R82m retention money...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.